State College, Pa. (April 7, 2022) — The Integrated Justice Information Systems (IJIS) Institute selected Mission Critical Partners (MCP) to test computer-aided dispatch system to computer-aided dispatch system interoperability, also known as CAD-to-CAD interoperability, in a lab environment and at two pilot sites.

CAD-to-CAD interoperability is not a new concept — nearly every emergency communications center (ECC) in the U.S. uses a CAD system. However, while CAD-to-CAD information exchanges have been implemented in several regions across the country, a prevalent technology has yet to emerge. One reason for this is that very few CAD system components are uniform across vendors because of a lack of standards. As a result, situational awareness suffers, and operational inefficiencies potentially are introduced that can negatively impact the optimal response to an emergency incident.

The IJIS Institute, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), recently developed a nonproprietary, standards-based specifications package designed to create more uniformity when implemented by CAD providers as part of their solutions. MCP will test those standards, which will utilize the Emergency Incident Data Object (EIDO) standard developed by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). To do so, MCP, in collaboration with the IJIS Institute, will implement information exchanges based on five predefined use case scenarios between two disparate CAD systems in a lab environment. Then, building on the lessons learned from this initial testing, the use cases will be implemented in two separate pilot sites.

The results of the testing will provide valuable information that can be leveraged to ensure that the standards can be implemented successfully in the future across the industry.

“This highly visible project is key to the IJIS Institute fulfilling its mission of driving public sector technology innovation and empowering information sharing to promote safer and healthier communities,” said Maria M. Cardiellos, IJIS Institute executive director. “Achieving CAD-to-CAD data interoperability will play a significant role in interagency collaboration, and ultimately will improve emergency response outcomes. We are confident that supporting the operational outcomes of emergency service providers nationally is a common goal for both the IJIS Institute and DHS S&T. We look forward to the successful collaboration.”

MCP is supporting several related initiatives spearheaded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for its National 911 Program, including assessing the current status of geographic information systems (GIS) to define what is required to achieve interoperable GIS data sharing. MCP also is conducting a nationwide CAD study — in a separate but related project for the National 911 Program — that will identify the challenges and costs associated with establishing an interoperable CAD data-sharing capability at ECCs nationwide.

“MCP values the opportunity to contribute toward the advancement of information sharing for the public safety community, through this project and others that we recently secured,” said Darrin Reilly, MCP president and chief executive officer. “We are honored to continue our relationship with one of the industry’s thought leaders. We share the IJIS Institute’s passion for expanding information sharing among public sector organizations.”

The CAD-to-CAD interoperability project is scheduled to be completed later this year.